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Jan 2, 2017

Bold Statement | Keith's Pink Civic Type R

For people who own and drive modified cars, their ride is like an extension of their personality and character. Some people are very low key while others can be loud and flamboyant. Half of the owners might be more sensible, practical and has no nonsense while others prefer something that's a bit more challenging. Regardless of which vibe represents you, we can all agree that our cars can only be something to be proud of if it reflects the personality and energy we have.

While in Singapore, it didn't take long to realize that owners here weren't afraid to show a bit of character and treat their cars as an extension of their personality. But it took me a bit longer to see how being different is a key thing to this. It is understandable since having a car in Singapore is so difficult. But I wouldn't have predicted there would come a day where I will see a pink Honda Civic Type R that would actually look good. But that's exactly what happened when I arranged a meeting with Elvin of ECS Garage.

The car that picked me up from Chinatown in Singapore was a Type R that was painted in a hot candy shade of pink. But it didn't stop there. Just like another Type R that I wrote about, this one was infested with carbon fiber. Is too much ever enough, not for this owner. The carbon fiber doesn't only cover the exterior but you can also find it in the interior and the engine bay.

The owner, Keith, has always been into car modifications and customization. After he had enough fun with his first car which was a Mitsubishi Lancer, Keith decided to to get himself the Civic Type R in 2011. For Keith, the potent K series VTEC engine was the key selling point to him for the Civic Type R. Once he bought the car, he never kept the car stock. Immediately, he took the Type R to Choon's Motor Works and installed a custom intake.

As the years go by, more parts started getting installed. But somehow it seems that everything just fits perfectly. For the K series motor, it is currently running on a set of Brian Crower stage 2 camshafts, a Toda exhaust system, a Skunk2 intake manifold and an Motec M800 engine management system. The ECU was tuned at Choon's Motor Works and it made an estimate of 270 horsepower from this set up.

Some may have mixed feelings with the appearance of the car especially in the shade of colour its sporting. But the reason behind this choice was that Keith wanted to make sure and guarantee that his car would stand out even more compared to his previous colour which was candy red. If anyone looked at this Type R closely, you might see that the look seem inspired by the modified cars from the early 2000s with the loud colour and funky lighting in the interior. At least from what we see, this Type R isn't only tuned in the performance aspect, but its also considered showstopper material if you took it to a car show.